Course Development Project Support Summer Institute Professional Development

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Dr. W. Terry Whisnant
A native of North Carolina, Terry now resides outside Richmond, Virginia and is President of Horizon Seminars, a conference presentation and workshop company specializing in leadership, motivation, team management, and self-improvement seminars. Terry has personally conducted over 500 such presentations to business, industry, and public service agencies during the past 25 years.

He also serves as Director of Master Teacher Seminars in Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, and the Indiana State College Academy of Instructional Excellence. These week long summer programs have the sole aim of providing teachers from a variety of disciplines and educational institutions a practical exploration of ways to improve their craft. The Seminars are hosted by Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, Alabama Colleges Association in Alabama, the Department of Education in Georgia, and by Ivy Tech State College in Indiana.

In addition to his seminar directing, Terry is Professor of Behavioral Sciences at Southside Virginia Community College. He teaches classes in Life Span Human Development, Introductory Psychology and Sociology, Behavior Modification, and Theories of Personality. Terry also teaches courses at Longwood College and at Old Dominion University and has served as Assistant Director of the National Center for Community College Education at George Mason University.

2002 Summer Institute Programs:

"Communication Skills for the Hard of Listening"
Communication is so much more than telling people what you want them to know. Some "folks is plain old hard of listening --- they need a thunder bolt and lightening strike to get the point."

Learn the primary principles of getting through to those not inclined to understand things the first time around. Sometimes, saying something like what you mean is much more likely to hit home than saying exactly what you mean. This presentation will reveal the keys required to put power and impact into your communication.

Presented with a series of visual examples, group demonstrations, and easy-to-relate-to stories, audiences quickly warm to the fun of understanding why so much of our conversation and communication can go astray.

Remember, they’re not contrary, they’re just Hard of Listening!


"Learning Styles and Teaching Strategies: A Match made in . . .the classroom"
Would you rather see the map or read the directions? Would you rather gather all materials before starting the project, or just jump in and get things as you need them? Do you prefer to get the big picture before studying the details? Is it better for students to brainstorm before or after they’ve read the chapter?

These and about fifty other questions will be presented in this program as the basis for discovering individual learning styles. Once that is accomplished, we’ll take a look at a variety of teaching techniques and strategies used in classrooms across the nation. The final task is to match the learning style to the teaching strategy.

Teachers will appreciate the practical teaching tips, research summaries, and program handouts describing instructional strategies and their applications.

Teaching is a wonderful experience --- when strategy matches style!

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